Adelaide millionaire Andrew Brolese in Milan prison on remand after Italian police swoop in FBI ‘blue screen of death’ cyber fraud case

He owns a $6m Glen Osmond mansion but he’s spent the past four months in an Italian prison on remand as US authorities hunt him down over an alleged $50m criminal plot.

A millionaire Adelaide businessman is behind bars in Italy over FBI allegations he masterminded an almost $50m, five-year international “blue screen of death” cyber fraud.

Eastern suburbs father Andrew Brolese, 43, has been languishing in Italian custody since his arrest at Milan airport four months ago after a more than three-year global manhunt.

US authorities have charged Mr Brolese, who owns a $6m Glen Osmond mansion, and co-accused conspirators with “serious” computer fraud and money laundering conspiracy after they allegedly duped “vulnerable” Americans and multinational companies.

The Brolese house in Glen Osmond. Picture: RoyVPhotography

US Federal Bureau of Investigation agents allege the “blue screen of death” gang – using “malicious” malware software proliferated over the internet and encrypted applications – made illicit profits worth at least $49.95m.

Mr Borlese, a “digital marketer” who has worked in Australia – including for the federal government – NZ and Monaco, is being held at Busto Arsizio prison, 38km northwest of Milan before his next Italian court appearance.

Middle Eastern co-accused Bikramjit Ahluwalia, 38, of Dubai, is in Spanish custody after his arrest in July last year.

Mr Borlese’s Australian lawyers said his client was presumed innocent as he awaits US Department of Justice extradition to Charlotte, North Carolina.

A map showing the global hunt for Adelaide businessman Andrew Brolese. Picture: The Advertiser

The Australian government is assisting his distraught South Australian-based family, who are staying silent.

Italian state police, acting on FBI and Interpol intelligence a “wanted” man was travelling through Milan Malpensa airport, arrested Mr Brolese on October 14, 2024.

They alleged he “evaded capture” since 2021.

After he disembarked from Singapore, officers seized “several thousand euros in cash, some computer devices, credit cards and two watches of considerable value”, Italian police said.

Mr Brolese, a former private schoolboy who allegedly used an Andrew_X alias, has yet to plead to nine counts of wire fraud or conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one charge each of conspiracy to damage a protected computer and money laundering conspiracy between April 2016 and March 2021.

A confidential, March 17 2021 federal indictment, which a US Western District Court judge in Charlotte has “unsealed”, reveals at least 10 victims were older than 55.

If convicted, the “gang” faces up to 30 years in jail, police said.

Court documents allege Mr Brolese – a dual Australian-Italian citizen who has lived overseas – and other suspects fleeced at least 12 victims in five US states.

Victims, none of whom are identified, lived in multiple states including Tennessee, Florida and five counties across North Carolina.

Two unnamed “multinational” technology companies, in Washington state and California, were also allegedly defrauded.

The FBI tracked him down to Milan airport. Picture: Getty Images

Documents allege Mr Brolese, who also had business interests on the Mediterranean island of Malta, and his dual British and United Arab Emirates citizen co-accused, owned Digital Marketing Support Services.

Their Seychelles company, based off East Africa, created and sold “malicious pop-ups” that were designed to direct “customer traffic for call centres”, investigators alleged.

The FBI allege the gang hit two American multinational technology companies with faked technical issues linked to their services.

Authorities, including cyber police based at the Italian Embassy in Washington, DC, allege “tech support fraud” faked a “blue screen of death” and other fatal system-errors.

Other pop-ups claimed users visited pornographic websites that infected “compromised” computers with malware.

Under the scheme, the FBI said alleged victims were directed to a fake tech support line that asked for payments to resolve problems.

Amounts worth more than $10,000, were transferred to company bank accounts, documents state.

A federal Grand Jury – a group of US citizens who assess evidence to determine “probable cause” for any trial – agreed authorities could recoup $US31,275,983 ($AUD49,952,012.19) of stolen funds.

In a statement, Italian police accused Mr Brolese of “evading capture” for more than three years.

“The charges against (him) concern a phenomenon … which has affected a large number of internet users, especially the elderly and particularly vulnerable people,” a spokesman said.

The FBI, DoJ and Interpol declined to comment.

Mr Brolese, who is believed to have hired lawyers in Australia, Italy and North America, has not commented.

His Sydney-based lawyer said his client is “presumed to be innocent” under Italian, US and international law.

“As Mr Brolese’s matter is presently before an international tribunal, it’s not appropriate to provide any comment,” he said.

Devastated Adelaide-based relatives, who fear being left in the dark, declined to comment.

Mr Brolese, who has extensive global business interests, paid more than $4m for an Italianate Victorian mansion in 2013.

His psychologist wife, who has not been accused of any wrongdoing, did not respond when The Advertiser attended the sprawling property.

The 1870-built, five-bedroom mansion, boasting a five-car garage and original workers’ quarters, has been described as “a South Australian heritage icon”.

The reclusive couple have scant information about their business or professional lives.

Property records show the pair, whose daughter attends an Adelaide primary school, also own a second Glen Osmond property.

Mr Brolese, named in the 2017 global “Paradise Papers” offshore investments leak, also has a two-bedroom CBD apartment.

Company records filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission show he owns three Australian companies and is a former director of five businesses.

After attending Blackfriars Priory School where he was a house captain, he undertook PhD studies at the University of Adelaide before his psychology research was published.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said the federal government was aware of the case.

“(We are) providing consular assistance to an Australian detained in Italy,” she said.

Assistance includes prison visits for welfare checks, diplomats liaising with local authorities, providing details of local lawyers and helping a detainee communicate with relatives.

She declined to comment further due to “privacy obligations”.

What did Andrew Brolese do according to FBI allegations?

An Adelaide millionaire fleeced victims of millions of dollars after faking computer failures that came to global prominence during a worldwide outage years later, the FBI allege.

US authorities accuse Andrew Brolese, 43, and Bikramjit Ahluwalia, 38, of “co-ordinating an international conspiracy” to defraud elderly clients and multinational companies.

The pair, facing extradition to the US from European jails, are charged with creating malicious pop-ups mimicking a “blue screen of death” and fake “tech support” between 2016 and 2021.

This is when an error message displays on Microsoft Windows operating systems to alert users they have a system failure, the US Department of Justice alleges.

Cyber experts say possible legitimate causes of such an information technology crash can include hardware failures, viruses or malware, which is software initially designed to slow down or disable a computer’s operations.

A worldwide “blue screen” crisis unfolded in July last year when computers across the globe crashed, sparking travel, financial and social chaos.

Court documents allege Mr Brolese, of Glen Osmond, in Adelaide’s east, and Mr Ahluwalia, of Dubai, co-ordinated the elaborate fraud through “malicious pop-ups”.

A previously secret indictment charge sheet, which a Federal Court judge in Charlotte, North Carolina has allowed to be reported, lays bare the sophisticated fraud.

“(They) co-ordinated an international conspiracy to defraud United States citizens by publishing malicious pop-ups that targeted (them) in the furtherance of tech-support fraud,” the “unsealed” federal indictment states.

“(The pop-up) temporarily disabled a user’s computer and displayed a message, often untrue or misleading, directing the user to contact a toll-free number for technical assistance.”

After contacting the fake tech support line, authorities alleged victims were asked to pay to resolve unnecessary repairs to fix “compromised” computers and avoid losing personal data and their device “deactivating”.

“This message was not at all truthful but was generated by a malware spread by the criminal gang,” an Italian police spokesman said.

The group, which included other unidentified suspects, allegedly used Skype, WhatsApp or Telegram for their scams.

Prosecutors alleged they targeted companies by generating pop-ups that misrepresented tech issues related to its software, services and devices.

Authorities claim they stole more than $US31.3m ($AUD49.95m).

Mr Brolese’s Sydney-based lawyers said their client is “presumed to be innocent” under international law.

The alleged crime wave came years before the 2024 worldwide outage sparked by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike that left millions of computers turning blue.

The unprecedented outage hit billions of people, airlines, banks, supermarkets, hospitals, businesses, the stock market and media organisations.

Despite the error being fixed within hours, the worldwide financial impact left an estimated damage bill of at least US$10bn.

CrowdStrike president, Melbourne-born Michael Sentonas, apologised for the “mistake”.

Originally published as Adelaide millionaire Andrew Brolese in Milan prison on remand after Italian police swoop in FBI ‘blue screen of death’ cyber fraud case